


Across All Worlds

by anecdotalist



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Lots and lots of AUs, M/M, Magical Realism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 23:39:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4078297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anecdotalist/pseuds/anecdotalist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>According to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, all possible histories and futures are real and there's an infinite number of universes in existence.</p><p>Zayn and Liam are given a pocketwatch...that opens a portal into some of these alternate universes. And so begins another adventure-of-a-lifetime for them.</p><p>Or,</p><p>Zayn and Liam travel to numerous AUs where they watch other versions of themselves find each other and fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue to an Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> I started this back when the Milan interview happened - that time they started talking about alternate universes - but it stalled for a bit. And then Stephen Hawking made his comment about Zayn and I love Stephen Hawking so I set out to finish enough of this to post.
> 
> A very long time ago, when I was in the Star Wars fandom, there was this amazing fic about Obi-wan traveling to different realities to save Qui-Gon and the idea just stuck with me. Unfortunately, I can't remember what that fic was called but that's where the inspiration for the basic premise of this story came from. 
> 
> This first part is the prologue, set in our real world, and every part after will be a self-contained mini-AU. So in a way, it's more of a collection of fics in a series than chapters in a story. I don't have a set number of parts I'm planning on writing for this. I'm just going to do as many AUs as I can think of. I would also welcome any suggestions, though I can't guarantee that they'll get written. I'm a really slow writer so please be patient with me. 
> 
> I'll add any appropriate tags/warning as they're needed. I may also change the fic summary at some point because I really kind of suck at summaries.
> 
> [Finding Home](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3258014) was supposed to be the prequel to this fic, but I'm planning on taking it down for revision soon. So if you guys want to read it, you still can, but you don't have to read that in order to follow this. In the meantime, I do have a timeline for Ziam's engagement/marriage that I'm using for the purpose of this fic which I can post as an appendix if you guys are interested.

_**Reality 000** _

_Our world - Z.  
_

* * *

  **Milan, December 12, 2013**

"If you hadn't met on the X-factor, do you think you would have met anyways?"

It was only the second question they were asked in the interview and they'd received a lot of questions in a lot of interviews over the years but this one hit Zayn hard - an unexpected punch in the gut.

"Do you imagine if we'd just met in some random situation? All in a tattoo shop! Except for Niall. And Niall's doing the tats!" Liam exclaimed right away.

Harry jumped in and Liam took the opportunity to turn to him and say quietly with an amused smile, "There's a parallel universe for you."

He turned back to the conversation before Zayn could say anything, as always intent on answering the question to the fullest. Liam brought up going to the same football game as Niall and then got into a debate over who had attended the same concert as the other (it ended up being Louis and Harry) and all Zayn could do was sit there and think with some despair _but what about me?_ which was silly because this was a discussion about alternate universes. He didn't have to worry about not meeting any of them because he actually _did_ meet all of them. But still, there was a part of him that kept thinking _what if, what if?_

"Where were _you_ all these years?" Liam asked him with a small laugh, bless him, trying to engage Zayn in this discussion so that he didn't stay lost in his thoughts.

He couldn't say anything, though. It was like there was a lump in his throat, all from the idea of possibly not meeting the other boys and especially not meeting _Liam_. It just didn't bear thinking about and yet, he couldn't stop thinking about it. _Life without Liam?_ It was a paralyzing thought. It made his heart practically seize in his chest. They'd just gotten engaged (14 days ago, actually, but who was counting?)! He didn't want to contemplate a world where that wasn't even a possibility because he and Liam had never met.

Luckily, Louis jumped in quickly with "Well, Zayn would have moved to Yorkshire. We would have got the same job."

"Oh, there we go," Liam said as if it was settled.

"I don't tend to do much in my own time," Zayn finally got out, looking at Liam because this answer was just for him and not for the fans sitting two feet in front of them nor for the other boys sitting on either side of them. "So I might not have seen you." He hated how unsure his voice came out, how clear it must have been that he was devastated at the notion, because he didn't want to bring Liam down. He gave a slight shrug and a twist of his mouth, trying to project _'that sucks but it's okay, I'm fine, don't worry, Liam.'_

"You might not have," Louis agreed casually, damn him.

He looked down, feeling like a vise was tightening around his heart.

"But then again," Liam said softly. "you might have."

And Zayn felt a rush of love for this man next to him, who could read him like a book and always knew just the right thing to say to bring him out of his low moods.

The interview moved on and Zayn refocused because he was a professional and this was his job. He pushed the niggling doubts and sadness to the back of his mind. It was a silly worry anyway. But still, _what if, what if_....

After the interview ended and they were back in the dressing room waiting for their ride to pick them up, Liam came up behind him and clasped both hands around Zayn's upper arms, squeezing gently. The voices of the others faded as they moved to the far side of the room to give them some privacy. Liam dug his chin into Zayn's left shoulder and nuzzled into his neck. "You alright, babe?"

Zayn closed his eyes, giving himself a second to breath in Liam's familiar cologne. "Yeah," he sighed. "Just, you know, thinking." Liam stayed silent, just rubbing his hands up and down Zayn's arms and pulling him back against his broad chest. "I almost didn't get up to go to the auditions that day. I really almost _didn't_ meet you. Or any of the others. But you, especially."

Liam wrapped his arms around Zayn's chest and hugged him tightly. "I don't believe that," Liam whispered fiercely. Zayn lifted his hands to rest them on Liam's arms. He opened his eyes to look down at them, taking in the contrast in colors of their skin tones and their joint collection of tattoos. The two of them were different in so many ways and yet, Zayn was sure that no one else in the world would ever complete him the way that Liam did. "We were meant to be together. We would have found each other no matter what."

Zayn nodded but, "You don't really know that," he couldn't help saying.

"I do, though. I know _us_."

And well, Zayn couldn't really argue with that, could he?

+++++

**London, April 18, 2015**

Zayn leaned against the open patio door gazing out at their backyard, cup of tea in one hand and lit cigarette dangling between two fingers of his left hand. He took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air and felt some of the tension that seemed to be perpetually with him lately drain away. It was closer to noon than morning by now but he'd gotten in late last night after the awards and he and Liam had stayed up even later celebrating.

He bit his lip on a smile and glanced down at the diamond ring on his left ring finger glittering brightly in the sunlight. He'd had it for a week now but it never failed to make him smile. He hadn't even wanted to take it off for the awards show because he wanted this token of his and Liam's love and commitment to each other to be seen by everyone, even those who didn't know what it meant.

One year of marriage! Even though they weren't able to be public about it (yet), it was still the happiest year of his life, to know that he and Liam were _it_ for each other forever and that nothing could come between them. (Not even him leaving the band.) So yeah, he had decided to wear the ring out in public, had even decided to move it back to his ring finger when Shahid had gifted him with one of his own rings to celebrate his award, and then had deliberately flashed it in Liam's face to seen his eyes darken at the sight of it when he got home.

They'd had a good time last night.

Zayn smirked at the memories.

Clicking on the tiles behind him alerted him to Loki being up and about seconds before the Husky mix brushed up against him.

"Hey baby, is your daddy awake finally?" he cooed, transferring his cigarette to his other hand so he could kneel down and give the dog a scratch behind his ears.

Loki nuzzled into Zayn's hand and thumped his tail against the floor as Liam's soft laugh came up behind them.

"Yeah, babe, I'm finally up."

Zayn looked up and felt his heart melt a bit at Liam sleepily rubbing his eyes and stretching. He'd slipped on a white tank and a pair of blue board shorts; it was an outfit not dissimilar to Zayn's own, though his tank was black and his shorts red. They had probably far too many of those in their closet.

"You don't -" he yawned "- have to be so smug about it."

Zayn smiled (just a little smugly) and said, "well, it's not every day that I actually wake up before you, now is it?"

"What can I say? You wore me out last night, you little minx."

Zayn grinned a little wider.

Liam reached down and wiggled his fingers in classic 'gimme' fashion. Zayn smirked and gingerly handed over his cigarette.

"Really?" Liam asked with one brow raised. He stretched over and carefully set it down on the ash tray sitting on the end table nearest the patio door. It was just at the edge of his reach, so Zayn got a delicious glimpse of the trail of hair on his abs when his shirt rode up. Then he turned back to Zayn and held his hand out again, this time with a small smile. He'd caught on to Zayn's game then. Good.

This time, Zayn handed him his cup of tea. Liam rolled his eyes and leaned over to set the cup down. Zayn took advantage of the movement to drink in the sight of Liam's arms and broad shoulders, the curve of his neck, that small birthmark that never failed to catch his eye. Loki, sensing that he'd lost both of their attentions, gave himself a vigorous shake next to Zayn and then bounded out the door, presumably to take care of his business.

"Now can I get my morning kiss?" Liam asked with a pout.

"Sure, babe," Zayn said and held out his left hand.

As soon as Liam clasped his hand around his, Zayn gave a sharp tug and Liam toppled down on top of him with a high-pitched shriek. He crashed against Zayn and sent them both tumbling down, managing as usual to somehow brace himself so that he didn't land too hard on top of Zayn. They ended up with their faces inches apart and their legs tangled together, Liam's left hand flat on the floor right next to Zayn's cheek, Zayn's right hand wound around Liam's back, and their other hands still clasped together.

They were silent for one shocked second. And then Zayn couldn't hold back his giggles anymore.

Liam laughed with him, eyes crinkling up in the corners and Zayn loved him. God, he loved him so much. Liam bent down to try to kiss him anyway, even though they were both laughing so hard they could barely coordinate enough to even brush their mouths together.

Finally, Liam rolled off to the side, using their joined hands to pull Zayn over so that he was lying across Liam's chest. Zayn smiled and snuggled in, resting his head over Liam's heart and letting its steady beat lull him. Liam slowly, absently almost, trailed the fingers of his free hand up and down Zayn's back - up to the nape of his neck and down to the small of his back and back again.

After some time, Liam brought their joined hands up and turned them so that the diamond ring was in clear view.

"It's beautiful, Liam. I love it so much."

"Yeah?" Liam asked. Zayn could hear the pleasure in his voice.

"Best one year marriage anniversary present ever. Along with the nose stud and my new earrings. It's perfect."

"I'm glad."

Zayn nodded. He knew Liam must have agonized over it, because he would have wanted it to be just right. But Zayn would have loved any gift he had gotten him.

"In fact," Zayn said with a small teasing smile that he hid in the folds of Liam's shirt. "I don't know how you're going to top it next year."

"Zayn Malik!" Liam exclaimed with mock outrage. Zayn tilted his face up to flash a cheeky smile at his husband. "Are you testing me?!"

"Maybe...whatcha gonna do about it, huh?"

"I'm gonna throw you the biggest wedding celebration ever, you donut."

"That's cheating! We've been planning that for ages!" They didn't have the privacy to actually have a celebration last year so they had just signed the legal documents and swore that they would do the ceremony properly on one of their anniversaries. This year, they couldn't because their anniversary was in the middle of the tour but they planned to hold it next year now that they were settled into their new home that was in a neighborhood that understood privacy and that had a backyard spacious enough to host a party of a couple hundred people. In the meantime, Zayn had decided to get his mehndi tattoos and nose piercing to celebrate their anniversaries (both engagement and marriage, of course) while they waited to have their ceremony.

"Fine, fine," Liam conceded with a chuckle. "You're right, of course. I'll think of something special. I've got a year, after all."

"You know you don't have to, right? I'll be happy with anything you get me, Liam."

Liam's eyes softened and Zayn thought that this was one of his favorite looks on Liam: when he looked at Zayn with such love that Zayn thought he might melt into a gooey mess. Zayn shifted and stretched up, meeting Liam's lips for a soft kiss.

He shifted again to a more comfortable position and his knee brushed up against something hard in Liam's pocket. He pulled back curiously. "Happy to see me, babe?" he teased.

"No - I mean, yes," Liam said, shifting a bit himself and brushing up deliberately against Zayn's thigh and oh, yes, there it was. Liam groaned and Zayn licked his lips. "But actually, I saw this in my jewelry box, with my watches?" Liam continued and Zayn moaned in frustration, thumping his head down on Liam's chest. He couldn't believe that Liam still had the presence of mind to continue with any other line of thinking besides both of them getting off right now. He must be losing his touch. Liam scratched lightly at his newly shorn hair with one hand and reached down with the other, pulling something out of the pocket of his shorts - the hard thing that Zayn had felt earlier.

Liam held it up to him and Zayn recognized the pocketwatch dangling from a burnished gold chain right away - he'd found it a week ago when he had been feeling restless staying in the house by himself while Liam was still on tour.

"Yeah," Zayn said. "It was in one of the boxes in our storage closet. I told you I unpacked a bunch of stuff, didn't I? That was in with some other souvenirs we must have gotten from the last tour." And then that reminded him - "Do you think we'll be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if I'm not with the band anymore. Are we gonna be okay still? We're not gonna see each other as much anymore, we're gonna be doing different things..."

"Babe," Liam said, pulling him down into a tight hug. "Of course we're going to be okay. We'll always be okay. We're going to do our whole lives together, right? It's alright if we have our own little side projects going on."

Zayn sighed. "Yeah, okay. I know. I do know. It just. It really hit me while I was home alone and you four were still out there touring the world and singing and all that. We're really heading down different paths."

"Well, sort of, I guess. But not really. We just aren't necessarily going to sing on the same songs together. But we'll still live together. Share the same home studio space. Maybe have kids one day. And who knows, maybe we'll collaborate on an album or two."

Zayn glanced up and saw that Liam was smiling down at him softly. He smiled back. "Maybe? Better make that a definite, Leeyum. I like singing with you."

"Aw, you know you're my favorite duet partner, Zaynie. And you know, if you just miss having a Payne around all the time, I can call up my mum. She'd love to come and take care of you and spoil you rotten."

Zayn laughed. "Says the one who's got my entire pack of Pakistani aunties fighting to get a selfie with him and trying to feed him up all the time."

"Hey, apparently, I'm attractive to all Maliks. Who knew?"

"Don't remind me," Zayn grumbled. He wasn't really upset though. He loved that his whole family loved Liam and accepted him so readily.

"Anyway, back to the watch!" Liam said and Zayn chuckled; Liam and his obsession with watches. Honestly. "Do you remember how we got it?" he had a twinkle in his eye so he clearly had something he was dying to tell Zayn.

Zayn thought hard, nose wrinkling, but he could only recall an elderly woman at one of their Make A Wish meet and greets. He said as much to Liam, who nodded.

"She said something about how it would answer our questions. I bet it's some kind of ancient magic 8 ball. From another time period or something," Liam sounded excited. "I remember I wanted to try it out right away but we were so busy I must've just put it away and forgot all about it. We could do it now, though!"

Zayn shook his head. He hated disappointing Liam, but "I already checked it when I found it. It's just an antique gold pocketwatch. There's an inscription on the back of it that sounds like it's in Latin but that's it. The clock doesn't even work anymore. It probably needs a new battery. Sorry, babe."

"Oh." Liam made a moue of disappointment but then shrugged, flipping the watch over and squinting down at the cursive writing etched into the casing. "Facultates perpetuae sunt" he read out slowly. He looked back up at Zayn. "I wonder what it means."

Zayn shrugged. He hadn't been interested enough to look it up earlier. It didn't sound like it was an old family heirloom that someone had mistakenly given them and that was the most important thing.

Liam flipped the cover open and -

A bright white light shot out of it.

Liam and Zayn snapped their heads around to follow it in shock -

Just in time to see a wide doorway take shape in between their dining table and the back of their couch, just feet away from the two of them. It seemed to have been made of white stone blocks stacked on top of each other and curving up into a semicircular arch. It looked old and stately, something that would have fit in better in the Roman coliseum instead of in their living room. Instead of a door between the frames, though, a swirl of purple, blue, and black appeared at the keystone of the arch and gradually spilled down to fill the space, obstructing their view of their kitchen.

"HOLY SHIT -"

"WHAT THE FUCK -?"

A breeze suddenly started blowing around them, going towards the doorway.

Zayn looked around wildly but everything else in the room remained calm. There seemed to be just a tunnel of air flowing into the doorway and he and Liam were directly in its path. He hurriedly scrambled up, tugging at Liam as he went.

"Get up, get up. We have to get out of here!"

"Yeah, yeah, definitely." Liam made to stand and the wind picked up. A sudden sharp gust hit them and Liam stumbled. Zayn caught him and gripped his arms tightly.

"Shit," he said, feeling the wind buffet against him. It seemed to be gaining strength and speed with every second. What the fuck was going on?!

Liam wrapped his arms tightly around Zayn's waist, set his feet, and gritted his teeth. Zayn followed his example and tried to dig his feet hard against the floor. Together, they leaned into the wind - now blowing hard enough that they had to nearly squint their eyes shut to protect them - and made to move out of the wind tunnel. They were only able to take tiny sliding steps, too worried about getting blown back to take their feet off the ground. As hard as they tried to push through the wind, though, Zayn could feel that they were slowly being pushed back towards the door.

Liam must have realized too. "This isn't working!" he shouted, looking around desperately.

"We have to keep trying!" Zayn shouted but he could barely even hear himself. The wind was howling around them now. He was feeling pretty desperate too. And terrified. What the fuck was happening?! Where did the door come from?! What _was_ it?! It was still pulling them in, though they were a little off-center now, slightly closer to the back of the couch than they had been when they started, but still more than an arm's-length away.

"I don't -" Liam shook his head and cut himself off. He looked intently down at Zayn and dread started pooling low in Zayn's belly. That look was never a good thing. It meant Liam was going to do whatever he needed to to help someone or die trying. And in this situation, that was a very real possibility.

"Liam, don't! Whatever it is you're thinking -"

"Zayn, I love you! I'm sorry! I hope this works!" Liam shouted back. And then he gave Zayn a violent shove, sending him tumbling over the back of the couch. For a microsecond, he felt like he was in the middle of a tug-of-war, balancing on the edge of the backrest with his upper body having broken through the wall of wind but his lower one still being pulled back. But then gravity won out and he fell over completely onto the other side of the couch. And all was silent and still.

Then Liam let off a shout - a startled, anguished, hopeless shout that ripped into Zayn like shards of glass.

"LIAM!" Zayn screamed, scrambling up onto the cushions. He saw Liam, sliding across the tiled floor, being pulled feet-first into the void with his arms outstretched. His fingers scrabbled helplessly against the floor without finding purchase. And then he disappeared fully with one last look right at Zayn. He had a small smile on his face, like he was _relieved_.

"NOOOOOOOO!" The denial was almost ripped out of him against his will. There was nothing else in his head besides that one word.

He felt numb, standing there staring at the swirl of colors that Liam had disappeared into with disbelief and grief.

He looked around slowly. Everything still looked normal. The dining table and overhead chandelier, dining chairs neatly tucked in because they only ever used that table when they had guests over, were completely undisturbed. The patio door remained open and through it, he could see blue skies and white fluffy clouds. Loki ran around in the backyard and didn't seem to notice anything had happened. He almost thought that maybe at any moment, he would hear Liam's footsteps coming down the stairs and the past couple of minutes would have turned out to be a horrible daydream.

But then his eyes landed on the pocketwatch that started it all: lying on the floor where Liam must have dropped it. Zayn choked back a sob. The thought of a world without Liam was unbearable. Life without Liam was unthinkable. It had been almost since the day they had met.

And above that pocketwatch, the wind tunnel was still...going strong? Zayn swiveled his head around and sure enough, the doorframe was still there. And it was still filled with the swirls of blues and blacks and purples.

Zayn snapped his head back to the pocketwatch. Could it be?

He leaped over the back of the couch and made straight for the watch, snatching it up and standing in the middle of the wind. It blew around him now but seemed to be lessening in intensity. Zayn didn't have time to wonder about that. He only hoped that this would work.

" _Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim_ ," he prayed. He held the watch tightly and ran straight at the doorway.

He closed his eyes and dove headfirst into the vortex and was swallowed by freezing darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I basically transcribed the Milan interview so it's word for word what they said. Well, or at least as much as I could make of it. There's a few lines that I wasn't entirely sure I heard correctly. You can watch it [here](http://video.corriere.it/gli-one-direction-incontrano-lettori-corriere-sera/5bead598-6344-11e3-ba6d-49d09c00448e) if you want.
> 
> Zayn's prayer is the Basmala, which according to [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basmala), is said before beginning a task to receive blessing from God. I'm not Muslim so if I've used it incorrectly, please let me know and I'll fix it.


	2. In which Liam had made it through judges house in X-factor 2008

_**Reality 005** _

_Liam signed with Syco after X-factor 2008 - Z.  
_

* * *

 

Zayn gradually became aware of rough carpet under his cheeks and hands and realized that he must be lying on a floor somewhere. He blinked his eyes slowly open, squinting against the spotlights in the ceiling.

What had happened? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was - jumping into a vortex that had appeared in their house and...sucked Liam in. Liam! Where was Liam?!

Zayn looked around frantically. He was apparently curled up between the wood paneling of a wall and the side of a soundboard which was set in front of a glass. Against the back wall was an old grey couch. Framed pictures of artists and records decorated the walls. He was in a studio, then. But he didn't see Liam anywhere. How had he gotten here and why was he lying on the floor?

Zayn's brow furrowed. Did all of that really happen at their house? That seemed like something he would have dreamt about. Or hallucinated if he had smoked some bad pot.

He brought his hand up and saw that he was clutching a golden pocketwatch. So that part, at least, seemed to have really happened.

A glint on his ring finger attracted his attention and he furrowed his brow at the thing gold band nestled against the diamond ring he had worn to the Asian Awards. His wedding band? Why was that on his finger? He'd been wearing it on his necklace, along with Liam's. He reached up to this neck, finding the thin chain and running his finger along it for the conjoined twin bands that should be hanging from it. But there was nothing. _Fuck!_ He looked around frantically, trying to see if the other ring, Liam's, had fallen off somewhere.

There was suddenly movement somewhere above him and creaking from a chair. Zayn looked up and someone leaned forward and into his field of vision: a middle-aged black man wearing large headphones. He pressed something on the board in front of him and a very familiar voice filtered into the room, trailing off on the end of a run. When the note ended, the man said, "Okay, Liam, I think that's good for now."

"Liam?!" Zayn exclaimed and scrambled up off of the floor. The man sitting behind the soundboard didn't react at all to Zayn popping up off the floor but Zayn barely registered that. He was more focused on the person in the recording booth.

And it _was_ Liam. But not the Liam that Zayn was hoping to see. This Liam looked like he was maybe sixteen or seventeen and he was sporting the straightened Justin Bieber bob that Zayn remembered from the X-factor days. Had Zayn gone back in time somehow?

Liam was looking right at the producer with a pleased grin and seemed not to notice Zayn standing and gaping at him.

"Yeah, Jay? You think that'll work for the album?" Not-Liam asked. _Album? As in, a One Direction album?_ What was Liam doing in the studio by himself? Where were the rest of the boys? They'd always gone as a group to the studio at that age, so excited by everything they didn't want to miss anything and so determined to bond quickly and strongly that they had stuck together for everything. The others should have been here, cuddled on the couch and shouting out encouragement to Liam even though he couldn't hear them through the soundproof glass.

The producer - Jay - nodded. "It sounded really good. I'm just going to mess around with it a bit. Why don't you take five and when you get back, we'll listen to what we have so far?"

Liam nodded enthusiastically and gave a thumbs-up. He gathered up his sheet music and a bottle of water and quietly exited the recording booth into the sound studio that Zayn and the producer were in. Jay was already bobbing his head and humming to himself, making adjusting various knobs on the board in front of him so Liam just set his papers down and made for the door.

Zayn hurried after him, catching the door before it could close and quietly following him out into the hallway. Liam pulled out his phone and punched a few buttons on it, laughing every once in a while. Liam still showed no signs of seeing him so Zayn carefully snuck up right behind him and peeked over his shoulder. It looked like Liam was scrolling through his twitter feed.

"Liam!" a young woman called out.

Zayn jumped and looked up. There was a brunette girl heading towards them, a bluetooth earpiece in her right ear, a Blackberry in her left hand, and a bottle of water in her right. She held the water out to Liam who grabbed it with a smile.

"Thanks, Marie. How are we doing with time?"

"They're prepping the set at Simon's for the X-factor taping and a car will be by in forty-five minutes to pick you up," she answered promptly.

Liam gave her a thumbs up while gulping down some water. "Good. Hopefully, we'll be done with this song by then and we can wrap it up."

Zayn stood in the hall, blatantly staring back and forth with them but neither one noticed him. In fact - he looked down at himself and confirmed that he was still dressed in his tank and shorts from earlier - he was very underdressed and he should be attracting attention for that at the very least. Was he dead or something? Was he a ghost? But no, he had been able to hold the door open earlier and he didn't think spirits were capable of doing that. He frowned, thinking hard.

Minutes passed and Liam returned to the studio. Zayn trailed after him absently and sat on the couch while he and Jay listened to the song and talked about what sound they were looking for. Zayn watched the exchange closely. The Liam he knew at that age was eager to learn and earnest. Liam had sung a lot on his own before X-factor and his voice had been well-trained. And he had taken classes in college for music engineering but he hadn't been as self-confident as this Liam seemed to be. This Liam had a pretty good idea of how he wanted the music to sound and what direction he wanted to go in, musically.

This was not his Liam.

So where was _his_ Liam?

Part of him was itching to take off, feeling desperate to try to track down Liam. But another part of him worried about losing this Liam because this could be his only link to his Liam. Surely if Liam had also ended up in this place, he'd be drawn to himself eventually, wouldn't he? But then why didn't Zayn end up with his other self? Was there a version of _him_ here? Maybe there wasn't and that's why Zayn got pulled to this Liam? What if the two Liams had merged together in this world? What if this was the only Liam Zayn had left and he didn't even know Zayn was there?

Gnawing on his bottom lip in worry, he followed Not-His-Liam into the car that took him (them) to Simon's house. This place looked familiar to him. He remembered coming here with the other four, nervous as hell about the audition and about being filmed and Liam had taken his hand right before they stepped out onto the patio and gave it a little squeeze and even then, his touch had been enough to calm Zayn.

Zayn wondered if he would see himself auditioning here. If he existed here. Would he be with the others? Or would that have changed too, since apparently Not-His-Liam was already a signed artist?

Zayn stood in the shade of a palm tree (still invisible to everyone around him; he wondered if that might wear off at some point) and watched as Not-His-Liam took a seat next to Simon and they chatted easily while a crew swarmed around them touching up their skin and hair and checked the lighting.

Finally, a producer came by with a headset and a clipboard and they started the auditions. Many of the same groups that Zayn had remembered from his time were there. He hadn't really paid attention to them before but they all sounded pretty good. He wondered what became of them. Then, four familiar faces walked out - Niall, Louis, Harry, and himself. Or at least, a version of himself. He couldn't see if there were any big differences about any of the other boys from the ones he knew.

But before he had a chance to look more closely, he caught sight of someone walking up behind them - light brown hair brushed into a short quiff, biceps well defined, feathered tattoo clearly visible on his right arm, dressed in a white tank and blue shorts. _Thank God!_

"Liam!" Zayn shouted.

Liam (his Liam) startled and looked up from the path. When he caught sight of Zayn, his face lit up. He hurtled unnoticed around the group, cut across the filming, and grabbed Zayn up into a bone-crushing hug. Zayn gasped, wrapping his arms around him tightly and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Trembles took over his body. He didn't know why he was feeling shaky _now_ instead of earlier when he had no idea where Liam was.

"Thank God you're okay," he whispered into Liam's skin. "I didn't know what had happened to you! I was so scared."

"Zayn," Liam breathed out shakily. "I was really hoping you wouldn't have gotten sucked in too. But I'm so happy to see you. I didn't think I was going to see you again."

Zayn sniffled and felt his eyes watering. He dug his nails into the skin of Liam's back. "Yeah, I'm really pissed at you for that stunt you pulled. Don't think I won't yell at you later. Just...after I can convince my body that you're really here and you're okay."

"I'm really here and I'm okay, babe. Well, I mean, I don't know what's going on so we might not be okay but -"

"Shut up and just hold me, okay? We can freak out over the magically appearing door and vortex later."

Liam hummed and squeezed Zayn to him just that little bit more.

Eventually, they calmed enough to pull apart, though they stood pressed together along their sides and kept their arms wrapped tightly around the other's waist. When they looked over at the filming, the four boys had just wrapped up their song and were walking off.

"Where did you end up?" Zayn asked.

"In your bedroom."

"What?!"

Liam laughed. "Nothing happened. You were sleeping...well, not you but him. He was sleeping. And your - his - mum came in to wake him but he didn't want to and then Safaa came in and jumped on the bed and said 'don't you want to get a chance to meet Liam Payne?' and I just about had a heart attack. Then next thing I knew, I was at the X-factor auditions and Simon was putting together the group and I didn't see me running around anywhere so I had no idea what was happening but I guess I was here all along, huh? Or not me me but that me."

"Yeah, apparently already a singer and in the middle of making a record. Possibly his second one."

"Hmm," Liam mused. "Interesting. So what do you think is going on here? It looks like we kind of traveled back in time, only this isn't _our_ past."

"No, it's not....Do you suppose it's like in the Infinite Crisis comics? Where there's an Earth one and an Earth two and all that?"

"Oh, with the multiple universes? You think this is another version of our world?"

Zayn shrugged expressively. "I dunno. But I mean, it fits, yeah? They're kind of like us but not really."

"So we just got sucked into a vortex and ended up in another universe?" Liam fell silent and seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Well, that's pretty cool, isn't it?" he finally said. "We're interdimensional travelers. Adventurers! Discoverers of new worlds!"

Zayn smiled fondly. That was his Liam, always looking for the silver lining. "Only because we're doing it together."

Liam shuddered. "Yeah, definitely. I don't even want to think about doing this without you. It would have been hell."

"Yeah, about that. I can't believe you pushed me away!" Zayn said with a scowl. Liam cringed and opened his mouth, probably to apologize but Zayn rushed on. He felt like he needed to get this out or he would break down in tears. "I don't ever want you trying to be a hero for me again, okay? No more of this noble self-sacrificing stuff."

"But -"

"No. Do you know how it felt in those few minutes, seeing you get sucked into that vortex and not knowing if you had died or something? And that you left me behind? It was the most awful thing I've ever felt."

"I'm sorry, Zaynie. I just wanted you to be safe."

"I know. But I don't want that to be at your expense. Okay? That's what we had promised each other when we signed those papers last year. We'd stay right next to each other through sickness and health, life and death, and everything in between. We said we would face everything together. No matter what. Even traveling across worlds."

Liam smiled a little, eyes a little watery. "You're right. We did promise each other forever. But Zayn, I'll always want you to be safe. And happy." And just like that, Zayn's ire dissipated. He melted into a little puddle of goo.

"I know. But if you went exploring different universes without me, I would be very unhappy," Zayn said and tried to frown sternly at Liam.

Liam laughed, leaning back. "Alrght, alright! You win. Next time I get sucked into an interdimensional portal, I'll be sure to drag you along. Sound good?"

"You'd better. Since hopefully the next portal that opens up will take us back home."

"I don't know if another one _will_ open. I don't have the watch with me. I must have dropped it at home."

"Yeah, you did. I grabbed it and jumped in after you. The portal wasn't closing after you were gone so I thought maybe the watch needed to go through in order for it to close up."

"Oh! That makes sense. Do you think it worked?"

"I hope so, or else Loki's going to end up here next." And as small of a possibility as that was, they both looked around for husky. But they didn't see him anywhere.

"Hey, Simon and I, or rather, my other self...the AU me? Whatever. They're getting up. I think they're getting ready to judge. We should go with them!" Liam let go of Zayn's waist and grabbed hold of his hand instead, tugging him after the two judges.

"Wait," Zayn said. He thought he had felt...he turned Liam's hand over and sure enough, on his ring finger was the missing wedding band. "Oh, good. You're wearing it."

"Yeah, it was there when I woke up. I didn't really know how that happened."

Zayn shrugged. "I don't either but I was panicking earlier when it wasn't on my necklace anymore."

"I like wearing it. It feels right. I wish I could do it more often." Liam pouted.

"One day, babe," Zayn said. It had become a frequent lament between them, that Liam had stopped wearing bracelets and rings after X-factor and now that he had a ring he wanted to show off, he couldn't because it was too obvious. "Come on, let's go see what Simon and the other you are saying about us. Or my other self and the other boys. Are they still calling themselves One Direction?"

They strolled across the yard to the area that had been set up as the deliberation table, filled with pictures of the groups. Simon and Liam were huddled around it and a guy holding a handheld video camera was circling the table, getting shots of the group pictures as the judges discussed each one.

"Yeah. Niall's dad came up with it. They sound pretty good as a foursome."

"How strange. That in our world, I left and you stayed in the band. But here, I'm in the band and you never were."

Liam shrugged. "Parallel universes."

They stopped just to the side of the table, standing carefully out of the way of the cameramen. Zayn didn't know what would happen if they got in someone's path here. Would the person walk around them without knowing why they were doing so? Would they walk right through them as if the weren't really there? Would they run into them and break whatever invisibility magic they apparently had around them?

Liam tugged sharply on his hand, bringing his attention to the table where Simon had just pointed at One Direction's picture. Zayn leaned forward to try to hear their soft conversation.

"This group I'm not sure about. It feels like they're missing something. I thought we had put together a good group but now I think it might not work out."

"I don't know, I think they have a lot of promise," Other-Liam said. "Especially this one in the middle. Zayn? He's got a great voice. Very soulful."

"Hm," Simon said thoughtfully. "I believe he was the one who didn't want to dance in bootcamp. I had to go get him."

Zayn groaned. Did people really remember that about him?

"Maybe he's just shy about dancing. I could help him with that if he needs it," Other-Liam said. Liam - Zayn's Liam - nudged him with a light snicker.

"I don't know about that, Liam," Simon said. "You're on a pretty tight schedule with your album. But I'll think about it."

"Okay," Other-Liam said and they moved on to the other groups.

"Let's go check on the boys," Zayn said, feeling curious about his other self.

They crossed the grounds again and wandered down some pathways until they came across Niall, Louis, Harry, and Other-Zayn seated on the ground, tossing a football back and forth. Harry was telling some kind of convoluted story that Niall looked like he was trying very hard to follow. Other-Zayn had flopped onto his back and draped his arm across his eyes; he looked like he had completely given up on trying to make sense out of Harry's storytelling. Louis looked fond and indulgent so Zayn guessed that some things hadn't changed in this universe. Zayn and Liam found places to sit nearby and settled in to watch the scene play out.

After a few minutes, when Niall looked like he was fighting off a headache and feeling incredibly guilty about not being able to follow Harry's thinking and Harry was looking a bit lost in his story himself, Other-Liam appeared around the bend. Niall looked over and smiled brightly when he caught sight of the other boy.

"Liam, hey! How goes it?"

Other-Zayn snapped up in shock, hand running through his hair and then pulling at the hem of his shirt to make sure it was hanging properly. Zayn chuckled and murmured to Liam, "Guess the Zayn of this world is just as smitten with the Liam of this world as I was with you."

"It was totally mutual, babe," Liam murmured back.

Other-Liam smiled back. "I'm doing well. My part's done, it's all up to Simon now. I was just about to head out. You guys were great!"

"Really? You think?" Niall asked eagerly.

Other-Liam nodded and then sat down with the others on Louis' prompting, answering questions about his own journey on X-factor two years ago. "Simon told me he almost didn't choose me to go to the live shows. He had thought I was too young but then his gut was telling him to go with it or something so he did. And now here I am! I didn't even make it that far on the show but that doesn't matter. It's just the getting signed part. So you just have to impress Simon."

The four boys nodded sagely. Then they pelted Other-Liam with questions about living in the house and learning new songs every week and what it was like to be recording in the studio. Other-Liam answered everything good-naturedly, gradually relaxing around the boys and joking with Louis and Niall. Other-Zayn spent the conversation watching Other-Liam intently, seemingly trying to absorb everything about him in the few minutes that they had together. Other-Liam, Zayn was amused to note, also spent a significant amount of time sneaking glances over at the other boy.

At some point, Louis announced loudly that he couldn't sit still anymore and "let's play some footie while we wait, yeah?"

The others got up quickly, but Other-Zayn held back uncertainly. "I'm not good at sports. Maybe I'll just watch..."

"Aw, no, come on, I want you on my team," Other-Liam cajoled. "You can play goalie. I promise I won't let the ball get past me. You'll have it easy." He smiled brightly at Other-Zayn and tried - and failed - to wink, making the other boy flush and duck his head before conceding.

"Oh God, that wink!" Liam moaned as everyone trotted out into a large grassy area and set up makeshift goalposts.

Zayn's lips quirked up. " _I_ think it's adorable."

In front of them, the boys divided into two teams - Louis and Niall versus Harry, Liam and Zayn - and kicked off the game.

"How is that fair?" Liam griped. "Louis and Niall are the two who know how to play the game!"

"You and Harry aren't slouches in this game either, babe."

Indeed, Other-Liam sprinted after, kicked, dove for, and headbutted the ball, doing everything in his power to keep his promise of protecting the goal. Harry took on the forward position, going up against Louis (and sometimes Niall who was playing both defense and goalie) to try to score a goal. Other-Zayn seemed to split his attention between the ball and Other-Liam.

"I can practically see heart-eyes on the you of this world, Malik."

Zayn leaned in and lightly butted his shoulder against Liam's. "It's practically my default expression when I'm looking at you. Apparently, that's universal. Mutiversal?"

Liam smiled. "Multiversal. I like that."

The game ended in a tie when one of the producers walked over and told them they were going to start filming again. The boys came together in a huddle, Other-Liam joining them briefly and apparently trying to give them encouragement before stepping aside and letting them finish up on their own. But when they broke apart and started making their way back towards Simon, he stopped Other-Zayn and spoke lowly to him, looking at him with hooded eyes as he pulled out his phone and entered something into it while Other-Zayn answered.

"Oh-ho! Look who made the first move here!" Liam crowed. He did a little fist-pump and wiggled a little in place. Zayn smiled at him.

Then the scene started blurring around them and Zayn hurriedly linked his arm with Liam's, unwilling to get separated again.

+++++

When it cleared, they were in one of the bedrooms in the X-factor house. Other-Zayn was lying on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed, flipping through a comic book. Niall had the bunk above him and was listening to music; across the room, Harry and Louis were playing cards on Harry's bunk.

Zayn looked over at Liam and raised his brow in question. Liam shrugged.

Just then, Other-Zayn's phone rang and he startled, dropping his comic book and snatching his phone up off the bed next to him. When he checked the caller ID, he flushed and Louis immediately wolf whistled.

"Ooooh, is that loverboy Liam? That's the fifth time he's called this week, Zaynie. Must really love hearing your voice!" Louis called out.

"Shut it, Lou!" Other-Zayn snapped. He tapped on the screen, held it up to the ear, and said brightly, "Hey, Li! Give me a sec, I just need to find some _peace_ and _quiet_." Throwing a dirty look at a leering Louis, he clambered out of bed and headed past Zayn and Liam to exit the room.

"Bye Liam!" Louis called out.

"Bye Liam!" Harry and Niall chorused out too.

A tinny chuckle could be heard from Other-Liam in response. Then he apparently said something to Other-Zayn because he stopped and poked his head back in. "Liam says hi and you're all donuts."

The others laughed as he ducked out again. Zayn and Liam hurried to follow him.

Other-Zayn curled up in an armchair at the end of the hall, speaking lowly into his phone. Zayn and Liam crowded up against the wall next to him, shamelessly listening in on the conversation.

"You know I can't spill the secret of what song we're doing next, Leeyum," Other-Zayn teased with a laugh. "What about you, what have you been working on?" He listened for a bit and then said, "Really? That's awesome! I can't wait to hear it. I bet it'll get even better reviews than your first album." He fell silent again and then his eyes lit up. "Yeah, I'd love to! Okay, see you in a bit."

Then he scrambled off the armchair and hurried back to the bedroom. He came out a few seconds later with his toiletries kit and headed straight to the bathroom. As the sound of the shower came on, Zayn and Liam drifted over to the open door of the bedroom.

"Guess he's heading over to Liam's again," Harry was saying.

"Those two," Louis said with a roll of his eyes. "They think they're being so sneaky. When they're actually the most obvious dorks in love ever."

Niall snickered. "I think it's kind of cute."

"Yeah, Lou. Stop teasing them," Harry chided. They went back to playing cards and Niall put his headphones back on and things were quiet for a few minutes. Then Other-Zayn returned and Louis broke out into a loud rendition of Love Shack.

"Oh my God, Louis, stop it!" Other-Zayn groaned. "Nothing's going to happen. We're just hanging out!" He threw his pillow with unerring accuracy at the other boy and then bent down to rummage through his suitcase for clothes.

Louis snickered but stopped singing.

Other-Zayn held up a red plaid shirt and said, "What do you think? Good? With my skinny black jeans?"

Niall leaned over the rail of his bed and gave a thumbs up. Harry nodded approvingly. Louis shrugged. "I think he'd say you looked nice even if you showed up in a potato sack."

Other-Zayn rolled his eyes. "No, he wouldn't."

"No, _you_ wouldn't," Louis countered.

"Although if anyone could make a potato sack look good, it _would_ be Zayn," Harry mused.

"Haha, very funny," Other-Zayn said dryly. He hurriedly dressed and then styled his hair using the mirror on the wall next to the bed. "I'm gonna wait for him outside. Bye!"

"Bye!" the boys chorused. "Don't forget about curfew!" Louis added slyly.

"Yes, mum!" Other-Zayn called back from the staircase.

"This is like one of those teen drama shows, isn't is?" Liam said with a quirk of his lips.

Zayn laughed. "Well, I mean, ever since X-factor, we've been living a teen drama, basically."

"Very true. Let's go. I want to see this version of me wooing his Zayn."

"How do you know this Zayn's not the one wooing his Liam?"

"Maybe it's mutual wooing."

When they got outside, they saw Other-Zayn climbing into an SUV with darkened windows, sliding across the seat to cuddle up to Other-Liam at the far end by the other door. Zayn and Liam clambered in unseen after him, Zayn taking the empty seat next to Other-Zayn and Liam settling in his lap.

"Hey," Other-Liam was greeting Other-Zayn with a soft smile and a peck on the lips. Zayn's eyes widened in surprise. "You look nice tonight."

Other-Zayn blushed lightly. "Thanks babe. You too."

As the car started moving, Other-Liam draped an arm across Other-Zayn's shoulders and pulled him in even more. Other-Zayn dropped his head onto Other-Liam's shoulder with a contented sigh. "So I thought we'd go eat at this Indian restaurant that's near the hotel and then we could go back to my room and watch a movie or something."

"Sounds nice," Other-Zayn murmured.

"Yeah? I figured a quiet night would be a nice break from all the X-factor stress."

"Yeah, it's been so hectic being on the show. I feel like there's always a million things to do. I don't know how you went through it alone. If I didn't have the lads, I'd be losing my mind for sure."

"It is tough. It gets a little easier when you're out. Kind of. Well, you won't have the weekly deadlines, at least. Though everything else is higher stakes."

"Ugh, can we not talk about work anymore tonight?"

Other-Liam chuckled. "Alright, got it. So are the lads still giving you shit?"

Other-Zayn rolled his eyes but smiled. "They think we're cute. And that we're gonna get married. Even though I told them we were taking it slow. But they've been really supportive, so that's good."

"Yeah. Oh, hey," Other-Liam said, pulling out an iPhone. "Have you heard Billionaire yet?" He fiddled with the phone and the song started playing.

"The new song with Bruno Mars! Yeah, 'course. It's great!" he enthused. Then he sang, " _I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the Queen._ "

" _Oh, every time I close my eyes_ ," Other-Liam joined in with a smile. They spent the rest of the car ride scrolling through Other-Liam's playlist and singing together.

"We are totally in a cheesy teen drama," Zayn murmured at one point.

"You say that as if we didn't do this just the other day at home," Liam said with a snicker. "Only we have an entire sound system and a theater room now."

Everything dimmed around them suddenly. "What the -" Zayn started but then, bright lights flooded the area around them and they fell down with twin _oof_ s.

"Ow," Zayn moaned. "What the fuck?"

He looked around while Liam gingerly picked himself up and helped him to his feet. They were in the wings of the familiar X-factor stage.

"Oh," Liam said. He looked around curiously. "I guess the other me released his album. Or at least, a single."

Because Other-Liam was now performing in front of the audience, backed by a live band and moving around, causing girls to scream whenever he neared them. On the far side, the contestants clustered together, radiating nerves that Zayn could feel. He spotted his other self easily - clutching tightly at Louis and Niall's hands but eyes focused entirely on Other-Liam. There was fondness mixed in with lust. Other-Liam gave a thrust of his hips, eliciting even louder screams, and Other-Zayn licked his lips.

Zayn nudged Liam, "We're in a totally different reality and you are still rocking the exact same dance moves."

Liam chuckled softly. "Hey, don't knock my moves."

"I don't think that was PG enough for the show," Zayn grinned widely and turned back to the stage. He counted the number of contestants remaining and figured it must be the seventh week of the competition. As soon as the performance finished and the show went to commercials, set hands swarmed the stage to help the band clear it and the contestants broke their holds on each other and converged excitedly around Other-Liam.

Other-Zayn hugged him and then kept a hand on his back while he shook hands with all of the contestants, accepting their praises with a bashful grin and returning some of his own.

"Aw, look at them. All supportive and couply. They're so cute," Liam cooed.

Zayn smiled at the sight. "Course they are. They're us."

The stage manager called out a thirty second warning and there was a flurry of activity as the contestants separated from the group and found their designated spots for the results. Other-Liam pulled Other-Zayn, Louis, Niall, and Harry in for quick hugs and then jogged off to wait in the wings, mere feet from where Zayn and Liam were standing.

The results proceeded more or less the same way that Zayn remembered them. Except for the end, when the last two acts remaining were One Direction and Paije Richardson. He found himself reaching out and gripping Liam's hand in worry but then told himself not to be silly; he knew how far One Direction made it on X-factor. So maybe they would have a close call here, they would still be fine. Nearby, Other-Liam had both hands clasped in front of him and was quietly chanting "Be safe, be safe, be safe!"

Zayn held his breath when the lights dimmed and O'Leary left the audience in suspense for a few seconds before announcing who was being eliminated. Then -

"One Direction!" The crowd gasped at the same time Zayn, Liam, and Other-Liam did. Some of them booed.

"Oh, no," Other-Liam gasped, hands clasped to his mouth.

On stage, Simon gathered the four boys into a group hug for a moment before O'Leary pulled their attentions back to the camera and asked them about their future.

"We're going to keep going," Other-Zayn said. "This isn't the last of One Direction."

"Thank you, boys. You had a great journey."

O'Leary went on to wrap up the show but Zayn kept his attention focused on the boys who were speaking quietly with Simon. Once the signal that the credits were rolling was given, the other contestants stepped up and crowded around the boys. Zayn looked towards the audience and saw the other judges and the boys' families coming up the stage as well. Next to him and Liam, Other-Liam stood practically vibrating with tension, brows furrowed in worry and sadness. But he waited patiently until everyone started moving off stage and then made a beeline for Other-Zayn, engulfing him in a hug and giving him a kiss.

"Well, that was unexpected," Liam commented.

"Yeah." He watched the other them being surrounded by their families and friends, arms around each other and leaning into each other. "They look pretty serious already."

"Yeah," Liam said. After a moment, he continued, "We probably would have been too, if I hadn't wasted all that time going back and forth between you and Danielle. I always wished I could have gone back and told myself to just go for it and not be scared."

"Don't beat yourself over it, Li. You needed the time."

Liam shook his head, looking a little down. "I'm lucky you waited until I figured things out."

"Babe, at the risk of sounding like a psycho stalker, I literally couldn't not wait for you. I was so gone for you, I couldn't _see_ anyone else."

Liam's lips curled up in a small smile. "Aww, babe, you are the furthest thing from a psycho stalker." He laid a hand on the nape of Zayn's neck and tugged him in for a gentle kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too."

When they pulled back, they saw that they were now standing in the middle of a red carpet event. There were some celebrities posing on the red carpet, other celebrities moving from one interviewer to the next, and a horde of screaming fans in the stands. There were bright lights everywhere from the flashes of the photographers' cameras and from the light stands some of the interviewers had set up.

The reporter nearest them, a blond woman in a long black dress, held up her microphone and said into the camera. "Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, formerly of One Direction, are headed this way. Let's see if they'll stop and talk to us for a bit."

Zayn and Liam looked up and sure enough, Other-Liam and Other-Zayn, both looking several years older than before, were making their way down the line of reporters. They both had on black suits, though the cut of Other-Zayn's suit was a little more daring while Other-Liam had gone with something more traditional. The pattern on Other-Zayn's tie was a red and white paisley and matched exactly with Other-Liam's pocket handkerchief.

The blond reported waved over at them and they both smiled, heading over.

"Welcome to the Grammys, gentlemen! How are you two feeling right now?"

"This is incredible! I never imagined I'd be here. I'm having a bit of a hard time believing it, to be honest," Other-Liam answered brightly.

The interviewer smiled. "Now, let's just recap for any of our viewers who may not be familiar with your story. Both of you had started out on X-factor UK but on different seasons. Liam, you were signed as a soloist with Syco after your season and Zayn, you were put into a group called One Direction."

Other-Liam and Other-Zayn both nodded.

"You guys did pretty well for a couple of years as a band. Why the split?"

Zayn jolted. So this world's version of him left the band too?

"We felt like it was time for us all to try to pursue our individual dreams. It was a unanimous decision," Other-Zayn smiled easily.

Oh, so a complete break-up, then. Zayn didn't know if that was preferable to what happened in their original world or not.

"And then the two of you decided to form an R and B duo together?"

"Yup. We had met during Zayn's season of X-factor and hit it off right away. We had similar influences and styles and we loved singing together so it just seemed like the perfect next step in our careers."

"But Liam, you had a pretty promising solo career. Any regrets giving that up?"

"No," Other-Liam answered quickly. "Not at all. I guess I was doing alright in the UK but y'know, it gets kind of lonely being on the road by yourself. And I love being able to bounce ideas off of Zayn. He's always been an inspiration for me and I think the songs we write together are brilliant."

"Aww, isn't he sweet?" Other-Zayn asked with a wide grin. Then he turned to Other-Liam. "You inspire me too."

"Well, I think it certainly showed on your first record together. And Zayn, there's been some comparisons between you and Beyonce. What do you think about that?"

"Wow, I don't even know what to say. She's an incredible singer. I'm honored that people think that but there's no one who's really on her level."

"And are the rumors correct that you've taken her advice and put a ring on it?" The interview asked with a pointed look at their joined hands.

Other-Liam laughed brightly and held up his left hand, flashing the gold band on his ring finger at the camera. Other-Zayn raised his hand and intertwined their fingers, bringing Other-Liam's hand up to his lips to brush a kiss across his knuckles. "That's right, this guy is off the market," he said, looking at Other-Liam with hooded eyes; Other-Liam flushed.

"Ahem, well, congratulations. And good luck tonight."

"Thank you!" Other-Liam and Other-Zayn chorused and moved on to the next interviewer, hands still intertwined.

 _To be free like that,_ Zayn thought wistfully and then shook his head. It was no use thinking that. Their own situation was different.

As if Liam could read his thoughts, the other man stepped up and rested his hand on Zayn's shoulder. "One day, yeah?"

Zayn nodded. And then he yelped as he felt the metal of the pocketwatch getting hot. He had nearly forgotten about it. He pulled it out of his shorts pocket and it was glowing a faint red. "This thing just got really hot all of a sudden. What do you think it means?" He shared a look with Liam who widened his eyes and shook his head.

He gingerly flicked the cover open. A white light shone out of it and the white stone doorway appeared in front of them, purples and blues and blacks swirling madly within the frame. A gentle wind picked up around them. Zayn looked around and as had been the case in their home, nothing else seemed to be affected except for them.

Liam reached out with his free hand and grasped Zayn's hand, interlocking their fingers tightly. He looked at Zayn and bit his lip. "What do you think?"

"I don't think we have a choice. I just hope it's going to take us home."

"Yeah." Liam nodded resolutely and turned back to the portal. "Ready?"

Zayn thought for a moment. They didn't have any way of knowing what lay beyond the door. It could take them home or it could take them into another reality. It could even kill them. How safe was it anyway, to travel between dimensions? But he was standing right next to Liam, where he always wanted to be. And whatever happened next, they were going to see it through together. So he grinned, tongue pressing up against the back of his teeth, and declared, "To infinity and beyond, babe."

Liam glanced back at him and laughed in delight. "Oh my God, I married a total cheeseball!" He gave Zayn's hand a little squeeze, chuckling again. "Come on, then, Zayn Lightyear."

"Aye aye, Woody Payne!" Zayn said with a salute.

Together, they braced themselves and walked into the unknown.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Feel free to come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://likealeafonthewind.tumblr.com) or [LJ](http://todriftornot.livejournal.com)!


End file.
